| Přispěvatelé: |
Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Skorkjær Binderkrantz, A., Capano, G |
| Popis: |
Public policy is a specific branch of policy studies, having as its field of research a specific definition of the sociopolitical phenomenon intended as policy. To define public policy, it is necessary to start from the fact that labels like policy studies, policy sciences, policy analysis, policy inquiry, and public policy are often used synonymously. However, a definitional distinction would be very useful in understanding the relevance and role of interest groups. For now, it is enough to underline that public policy is a specific field of study pursued from a political science perspective but with multidisciplinary nuances. It focuses on facts/ events that are perceived to be social and political problems. It attempts to understand how the government and other relevant actors act and interact when addressing policy problems in terms of definition and decision. It analyzes how collectivized decisions and policy programs are implemented. It focuses on the different ways of assessing and evaluating outputs and outcomes. It focuses on what really happens in policymaking and tries to provide input for what should be done to improve performance and impact on society. Indeed, public policy is a multifaceted discipline, and to reduce it to its essence for the economy of this chapter, here it is held that public policy is committed to analyzing the processes dealing with collective problems, to understand who gets what, when, and how. This is a minimal definition that can be agreed upon by political scientists interested in understanding policies: they can be focused on how power is processed through policymaking as well as on how problems are framed as collective and consequentially solved. |
